Prediction of fetal birthweight in Taiwanese women with pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension using an equation based on maternal characteristics.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the present study was to develop a method for predicting the birthweight of newborns in women with pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension based on maternal characteristics and pregnancy-related factors.


METHODS
A total of 661 consecutive pregnant women with pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension who delivered at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from 1994 to 2003 were included in the analysis. Multivariate regression formulas (Models I and II) were derived from maternal characteristics to predict low infant birthweight. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were calculated and tested for these formulas.


RESULTS
The Model I formula was as follows: Using a cut-off value of 2210 g, the equation predicts the occurrence of a low birthweight baby with 90.9% sensitivity. If higher specificity is required, increasing the cut-off value to 2488 g yields a specificity of 95.2%. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed an area under the curve of 93.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.88 to 0.99) for low birthweight baby prediction in Model I.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that these regression formulas based on maternal characteristics may accurately predict low birthweight babies in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension. The cut-off values were determined and cross-validated by ROC curve analysis.
Liu
Ching-Ming
CM
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Tao-yuan, Taiwan. cliu1218.tw@yahoo.com.tw
Chang
Shuenn-Dyh
SD
Cheng
Po-Jen
PJ
D001724:Birth Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008954:Models, Biological; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies